Ghost Tour de France

With the Tour de France well underway, I thought it’d be interesting to take a ghost tour of France. The trouble is, I had a hard time finding ghost stories from France!

LOST IN TRANSLATION?

I figured finding ghost tours in France, or ghost stories from France, would be as easy as finding them for England. It doesn’t seem that the French have embraced the concept of ghost tours in all their historic places as readily as the English have, though.

Paris had one, but the rest of France seems like an untapped market for anyone looking for a place to branch out into paranormal tourism.

Still, I did find a few places that would make fun Haunt Jaunts if you happen to make it to France. (Not to mention they just look like neat places you might like to visit period, ghost enthusiast or no, if you’re ever over there.)

FROM THE INTERNATIONAL HAUNTED PLACES DIRECTORY

• Disneyland Paris – The children’s section has had reports of “mysterious vortex of energy” haunting the area.
• Monts d’Arree – The locals have a spot they deemed the Gates of Hell because of all the ghost sightings. Legend has it a little girl was sacrificed by devil worshippers there. Her ghost, along with a demon dog, are the ones most frequently reported. (Interesting to note: A nuclear reactor was built on the site, so if you find that start looking for ghosts!)
• Basilica at Domremy – Joan of Arc’s ghost is thought to haunt here.
• Versailles – Marie Antoinette’s entire court is said to haunt the gardens of Trianon.

FROM SHADOWLANDS HAUNTED PLACES IN FRANCE

• Best Western Bretagne Montparnasse – Stay in Paris and have a hauntingly good time with a ghost said to wake you from your dreams to find a bright, wispy blue hand and arm over your face.
• Paris Catacombs – On the Shadowlands site it says there was a video camera found with footage showing a terrified man running from something unseen, but the man was never found. Sounds like the Blair Witch Project to me. But of course with so many bones, all of which were transplanted from other cemeteries, there might be a restless spirit or two lurking down there…
• The Eiffel Tower – Did an angry boyfriend throw his girlfriend to her death after she refused to say yes to his proposal of marriage? Her ghost is said to be heard first laughing, then saying no, then screaming as she falls to her death.

FROM GHOSTS AND THE PARANORMAL

• Brissac Castle – This is one of the castles in the famed, fairytale land of the Loire Valley. It’s dubbed “The Giant of the Loire Valley” because its seven stories make it the tallest of France’s castles. Said to be haunted by Jacques de Breze’s wife, Charlotte and her lover, who were killed together.

FROM GHOSTVILLAGE.COM

• Mysteries of Paris Ghost Tour – I wasn’t kidding when I started off saying the French haven’t caught on to the boon of paranormal tourism yet. The cities first ever ghost tour just opened this past Spring. That blows me away given all of its history. I think of all the ghost tours in our oldest cities, which are just babies compared to Paris. But it was comforting because it explains why I had such a hard time finding ghost tour info for other French cities –they likely don’t have ghost tours yet! (I smell opportunity for any of you ex-pats or wannabe ex-pats.)

Courtney Mroch

Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.

Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.